Waste compacting device

ABSTRACT

A waste compacting assembly comprising an elongated circular housing, a movable compactor of annular shape slidably mounted therein, said housing being adapted to receive waste to be compacted therein, said housing being partially in the shape of a funnel, and said compactor being forcibly reciprocable toward and away from said funnel to compact waste into said funnel.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Daniel Q. Boje Staten Island, N.Y.

[211 App1.No. 842,892

[22] Filed July 18, 1969 [45] Patented Sept. 14, 1971 [73] AssigneeCompactor Corporation Brooklyn, N.Y. Continuation of application Ser.No. 588,050, Oct. 20, 1966. i V V [54] WASTE COMPACTING DEVICE 13Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 100/48, 21/58,21/61,53/124, l/71,100/98,100/99,100/100,100/179,100/215,100/229,100/289,

[51] Int. Cl Bb 15/14 Field of Search 100/98, 99,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 651,722 6/1900 Murphy 100/98UX 8/1931 Paxton /98 UX 10/1961 Brady... 100/98 X 11/1962 Ghiringhelli100/229 UX 9/1965 Swiderski et a1... 100/289 X 12/1965 Michael 1 53/124X 1/1966 French et a1. 100/214 8/1966 Lau 53/67 X 3/1888 Chase v 141/2558/1954 Waddle et a1 100/74 X 5/1967 Armijo 21/77 UX FOREIGN PATENTS 1915Great Britain 107/14 Primary Examiner-Billy .1. Wilhite Almmeys-Harry G.Martin, Jr. and .1. Raymond Curtin ABSTRACT: A waste compacting assemblycomprising an elongated circular housing, a movable compactor of annularshape slidably mounted therein, said housing being adapted to receivewaste to be compacted therein, said housing being partially in the shapeof a funnel, and said compactor being forcibly reciprocable toward andaway from said funnel to compact waste into said funnel.

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FIG 2 IDANIELQ OJE M M Attorneys WASTE COMPACTING DEVICE CROSS-REFERENCETO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation ofcopending U.S. application, Ser. No. 588,050, filed Oct. 20, 1966.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present inventionrelates to a waste compacting device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is toprovide a waste compacting device and, more particularly, atransportable waste compacting device adaptable to fixed installations.

In accord with the invention, there is now provided a waste compactingasembly comprising an elongated housing comprised of a continuous wallof generally circular cross section having an inner surface, a movablecompactor of circular cross section slidably mounted within saidhousing, said housing having an opening defined therein through whichwaste may be loaded for compaction therein, a portion of said housingbeing constructed in the form of a funnel, said compactor being forciblyreciprocable toward and away from said funnel to compact waste loadedinto said housing against the inner surface of said funnel as said wasteis moved therethrough by said compactor, shearing means acting inassociation with said compactor to prevent immobilization thereof byjamming of said waste,

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Other objects and many of the attendantadvantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the samebecome better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference numerals designate like partsthroughout the Figures thereof, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inventive device;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the inventive device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the compactor;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the housing;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the right end of theinventive device; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 5 showing thewaste being loaded into a container.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings,wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding partsthroughout the several views, there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a wastecompacting assembly 10 which includes an elongated housing 11 having aninner surface and a movable compactor 12 slidably mounted within thehousing. The housing 11 is provided with an opening 13 defined thereinthrough which waste 14 may be loaded for compaction therein. A portionof the housing, generally indicated by the numeral 16, is seen to beconstructed in the form of a funnel having its longitudinal axisoriented in the direction of motion of the compactor 12. The compactoris forcibly reciprocable toward and away from the funnel to compactwaste loaded into the housing against the inner surface 15 of thefunnel. The waste is compacted as it is moved through the housing 11 bythe action of the compactor.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the movable compactor 12 is preferably anannular member which is advantageously of circular cross sectionconstructed in a pistonlike form. The compactor comprises a headwall 20,a skirt wall 21, and a carrying means 22. The skirt wall is integrallyconnected to the headwall and extends horizontally therefrom andsubstantially normal thereto. It is seen that the skirt wall 21 is anannular extension of the peripheral configuration of the headwall 20.The

carrying means 22 may be a single elongated annular member having aninternally threaded channel formed in one end thereof to threadablyreceive a drive shaft, and having the other end thereof integrallyconnected to the headwall, skirt wall, or both. The carrying means 22 isadvantageously a plurality of elongated annular members 23, each havingone end thereof integrally connected to the junction between theheadwall 20 and skirt wall 21, and having the other ends thereofterminated together in a collar 24 having an internally threaded bore 25formed therein to threadably receive a drive shaft 26.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the elongated housing 11 is an annularconduit which is advantageously constructed from a rigid material. Thehousing is preferably a generally circular enclosure comprising a wall30 having an inner surface 15 and an outer surface 18. The preferredembodiment of the enclosure includes a left end section 31, a right endsection 32 of lesser diameter than the left, an an open-endedfunnel-shaped section 16 extending intermediate the end sections andmerging thereinto to form a reducing conduit section which brings theright end section into waste flow relation with the left. Thelongitudinal axis of the housing is preferably oriented horizontally, asshown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4. The opening 13 for the ingress of waste ispreferably formed in the left end section 31 of the enclosure wall 30.It should be understood that it is a feature of the invention to use asimple construction of generally circular cross section easilyorientable so that the opening is positionable for side loading as wellas top loading by rolling the housing over to the extent circumstancesdictate. In the preferred embodiment, the opening 13 is shown verticallyoriented since the majority of users are expected to so use the device.The compactor 12, as hereinbefore described, may be convenientlyslidably mounted within the left end section 31 of the housing, as shownin FIGS. 1 and 2. In operation, the headwall of the compactor l2reciprocates between a forward position 35 and a rearward position 36,said positions defining the length of travel of the compactor. It is afeature of the invention to provide a compactor skirt wall 21 whichextends horizontally from the headwall a distance substantially equal toor greater than the maximum horizontal dimension of the opening 13. Thisfeature prevents inadvertently loading waste into the end of the leftend section remote from the headwall when the compactor is projected tothe forward position thereof. The right end 32 of the compactor servesas a discharge conduit and supporting means for removable wastecontainers generally represented by the container 37. It is a feature ofthe invention to dimension the right end or discharge end 32 of theconduit to allow standard sizes of waste containers well known in theart to be slidably mounted thereon as shown in FIG. 5. It is a furtherfeature to provide disposable bags to be used in place of standard-sizedwaste containers.

The container 37 is mounted on the outer surface of the housing and heldin place by its inherent weight. Waste 14, forcibly moved through thefunnel l6 and progressively compacted therein and thereby as it isforcibly moved therethrough, contacts the inner bottom surface of thecontainer and forcibly moves the container from the housing as thecontainer is simultaneously progressively filled with com pacted waste.When a container becomes full it will fall of its own weight from thedischarge end of the funnel. whereupon an attendant may replace saidcontainer with another empty container by slidably mounting it on thedischarge mouth 32.

It should be understood that the compactor 12 is adaptable to becyclically moved from the rearward position 36 thereof to the forwardposition 35 thereof and returned therefrom to the rearward position 36thereof by driving means 40 associated with the housing that are wellknown in the art. The driving means may include hydraulic driving meanshaving a smooth-surfaced drive shaft associated therewith instead ofpreferred embodiment includes a reversible gear motor 41 havingelectrical terminals 42adapted to be energized by a source of current.The motor 41 includes a controlling means 43 for stopping, starting andautomatically reversing the motor and a power takeoff adapter 44operably associated with the motor gearing. The drive shaft 26 isoperably connected to the power takeoff adapter to rotate said shaft inplace.

One end of the drive shaft 26 has a threaded body portion 27 whichthreadably engages the internally threaded collar 24 of the compactor12. The opposite end thereof is a smoothsurfaced body portion 28 endwisesupported for rotation in place. A supporting member 45 having a boredcollar 45A connected thereto is provided to support the opposite end 28of the shaft. It is to be understood hat the shaft is joumaled forrotation in the bored collar 45A and endwise anchored therein forrotation in place by means well known in the art. The supporting member45 may be conveniently mounted within the left end section 31 of thehousing to give a finished appearance to the inventive device by meanswell known in the art. To support the motor 41 in place, mounting meansare provided which preferably comprise a bracket 46 and a supporting arm47. The bracket 46 is integrally connected to the motor 41 forming aplatform therefor. One end 48 of the supporting arm is pivoted to thebracket 46 by means of a pivot pin 48a and the other end 49 thereof isanchored to the supporting member 45 by means well known in the art. Thehousing 11 is advantageously provided with a guide pin 11A connectedthereto which slidably engages a keyway channel 11B formed in thecompactor skirt wall 21. The pin 11A cooperates with the sides of thekeyway 1113 to constrain the compactor from rotation in place whentorque is imposed thereon by the rotating drive shaft.

A feature of the invention is to provide venting means shown in thedrawing as an opening 33 in the left end section of the housing. It isunderstood of course that a vented cover may otherwise be provided at anadditional expense. In any event, an opening 33 is provided to avoid aircompression and airlock problems which might otherwise occur duringoperation of the compactor if the left end of the housing were to beenclosed without providing a vent therefor. As shown by the dashed-linedepiction of a transporter 50 it is a feature of the invention toprovide a transportable waste compactor assembly adaptable for variousfixed installation schemes.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the waste compactor assembly is adaptable forfixed installation at the bottom of an incinerator chute 51. It is afeature of the invention to provide an adapter 52 intermediate thebottom of the incinerator chute 51 and the loading opening 13 in thecompactor housing. Waste loaded into the incinerator chute through aplurality of loading openings generally represented by the coveredopening 53 falls by force of gravity into the adapter 52 and is guidedthereby from the incinerator chute 51 to the compactor opening 13 andtherethrough into the housing 11. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the adapter52 is a hopper comprising an elongated funnel of substantiallyrectangular cross section. The hopper is endwise vertically oriented toform a continuation of the incinerator chute. The hopper 52advantageously comprises a substantially vertical front wall 54, aslanted rear wall 55, and slanted opposing sidewalls 56. All of thewalls 54, 55, and 56 are constructed from sheet material. The slantedwalls 55 and 56 are connected together to form a waste guide chute. Theopposing upwardly oriented edges 57 o the rear wall 55 are connected tothe rearward upwardly oriented edges 58 of the opposing sidewalls 56 bymeans well known in the art. The forward vertically oriented sidewalledge surfaces 59 remote from the rear wall 55 are connected to the frontwall 54 throughout the lower portions thereof by means well known in theart. The upper portions of these sidewall edges 59 abut against theincinerator brick work intermediate the front wall and the upper edges.

In the preferred embodiment, the front wall 54 extends around thecompactor housing 11 to support the housing in comprising a pair ofarcuate plates 63 and 64 edgewise orientable with respect to each otherto define an arcuate shearing plane substantially equal to the width ofthe housing cutout 13 as measured along the circumference of thehousing. The plates 63 and 64 shear refuse deposited partially withinand without the waste compactor housing to prevent the waste fromjamming between the compactor and housing when the compactor is moved tothe forward position 35 thereof. The shearing means includes a firstplate 63 connected to the compactor head 20 and a second plate 64connected to the front wall of the hopper 52. In operation, thecompactor moves one of the arcuate edge surfaces 65 of the first plate63 slidably within one of the arcuate edge surfaces 66 of the secondplate 64 to shear waste therebetween, thereby preventing immobilizationof the compactor by jamming. The arcuate edge surfaces 65, 66 arebrought into shearing relation with respect to each other when thecompactor-carried plate 63 is moved into cooperating relationship withthe front-wall-carried plate 64.

A feature of the invention is to provide a reinforcing strut 34 endwiseconnected to the skirt wall by means well know in the art. The strutcomprises a channel member having an orifice 39 bored through the centerthereof. The centrally located aperture 39 is assembled in register withthe internally threaded collar 24. As shown in the Figures, the driveshaft 26 is insertable therethrough when it is threadably engaged withthe collar. The strut is connected to the collar by means well known inthe art.

Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, it is seen that a switching means 70may advantageously be provided to signal the motor-controlling means 43to stop and start the motor 41 depending upon whether or not a container37 is or is not mounted on the discharge end of the housing. Thecontrolling means 43 may advantageously comprise a microswitch having aclosed position 67 which corresponds to start signalling and an openposition 68 which corresponds to stop signalling. The microswitch mayadvantageously have a lever arm 69 pivoted thereto to contact the innersurface of the container when it is mounted on the housing. The lever 69is so positioned with respect to the microswitch that when a containeris mounted on the funnel the lever is depressed by the container. Inturn, the lever closes the switch, thereby signalling the motor to startcyclically compacting the waste. The lever is released when thecontainer falls off or is otherwise removed from the housing. Thereuponthe switch opens, thereby signalling the motor to stop cyclicallycompacting the waste.

Disinfectant dispensing means 71 may be conveniently located within thehopper to dispense disinfectant therein.

A warning alarm means 72 may be conveniently locate, as shown in FIG. 1,to respond to the stimulus of fire due to combustion within the hopperand/or basement area and emit a warning signal to the occupants of thehouse wherein the compactor is disposed.

What is claim is:

l. A waste compacting assembly comprising an elongated hollow housinghaving three integral sections, the first and third sections being ofconstant dimension throughout their lengths, the second section taperingdownwardly toward the third section so that said third section has asmaller dimension than the first section, an opening in said firstsection through which waste may enter, a movable compactor of crosssection complimentary to said first section of the hollow housing, saidcompactor being slidably mounted in said first section, means in saidfirst section to reciprocate said compactor, shearing means on saidcompactor and said first housing section to prevent immobilization ofsaid compactor, the third section of said housing being adapted to havea waste receptacle mounted thereon, switch means on said housing thirdsection interrelated with said means to reciprocate said compactor andwhich switch means functions to start the reciprocating movement of saidcompactor when the switch means is actuated by a waste receptacle beingplaced thereon.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said housing is cylindricalwith said second section being of funnel shape.

3. the device according to claim 1, said compactor comprising aheadwall, a skirt wall extending from said headwall, and a carryingmeans extending from said headwall. 4, The device according to claim 3,said carrying means comprising an elongated member having an internallythreaded bore formed in the end thereof remote from the headwall.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein said means to reciprocatesaid compactor includes a drive shaft having a threaded body portionwhich threadably engages the internally threaded bore formed in thecarrying member for forcibly slidably moving the compactor cyclicallywithin the housing.

6. The device according to claim 5, including a reversible gear motoradapted to rotate the drive shaft in place.

7. The device according to claim 6, including a controlling meansassociated with the motor for starting, stopping and reversing themotor, said switch means remotely signalling said controlling means.

8. The device according to claim 3, said carrying means comprising anelongated member having a bore formed in the end thereof remote from theheadwall, and said means to reciprocate said compactor including a driveshaft associated with hydraulic driving means, said drive shaft having abody portion which engages said bore and is directly connected to saidheadwall for forcibly slidably moving the compactor cyclically withinthe housing.

9. The device according to claim 1, including a hopper adapted to saidfirst section opening.

10. The device according to claim 9 wherein disinfectant dispensingmeans are provided in said hopper to disinfect said waste being loadedinto said housing.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein said waste receptacle whichactuates said switch means is a generally cylindrically shapedcontainer.

12. The device according to claim 1, wherein said waste receptacle whichactuates said switch means is a disposable bag.

l3. The device according to claim 1 wherein said switch means comprisesa microswitch having a closeable position correspondable to startsignalling and an openable position correspondable to stop signalling,said microswitch having a lever arm pivoted thereto contactable on theoutside of said housing third section for opening and closing the switchmeans.

1. A waste compacting assembly comprising an elongated hollow housinghaving three integral sections, the first and third sections being ofconstant dimension throughout their lengths, the second section taperingdownwardly toward the third section so that said third section has asmaller dimension than the first section, an opening in said firstsection through which waste may enter, a movable compactor of crosssection complimentary to said first section of the hollow housing, saidcompactor being slidably mounted in said first section, means in saidfirst section to reciprocate said compactor, shearing means on saidcompactor and said first housing section to prevent immobilization ofsaid compactor, the third section of said housing being adapted to havea waste receptacle mounted thereon, switch means on said housing thirdsection interrelated with said means to reciprocate said compactor andwhich switch means functions to start the reciprocating movement of saidcompactor when the switch means is actuated by a waste receptacle beingplaced thereon.
 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said housingis cylindrical with said second section being of funnel shape.
 3. thedevice according to claim 1, said compactor comprising a headwall, askirt wall extending from said headwall, and a carrying means extendingfrom said headwall.
 4. The device according to claim 3, said carryingmeans comprising an elongated member having an internally threaded boreformed in the end thereof remote from the headwall.
 5. The deviceaccording to claim 4, wherein said means to reciprocate said compactorincludes a drive shaft having a threaded body portion which threadablyengages the internally threaded bore formed in the carrying member forforcibly slidably moving the compactor cyclically within the housing. 6.The device according to claim 5, including a reversible gear motoradapted to rotate the drive shaft in place.
 7. The device according toclaim 6, including a controlling means associated with the motor forstarting, stopping and reversing the motor, said switch means remotelysignalling said controlling means.
 8. The device according to claim 3,said carrying means comprising an elongated member having a bore formedin the end thereof remote from the headwall, and said means toreciprocate said compactor including a drive shaft associated withhydraulic driving means, said drive shaft having a body portion whichengages said bore and is directly connected to said headwall forforcibly slidably moving the compactor cyclically within the housing. 9.The device according to claim 1, including a hopper adapted to saidfirst section opening.
 10. The device according to claim 9 whereindisinfectant dispensing means are provided in said hopper to disinfectsaid waste being loaded into said housing.
 11. The device according toclaim 1, wherein said waste receptacle which actuates said switch meansis a generally cylindrically shaped container.
 12. The device accordingto claim 1, wherein said waste receptacle which actuates said switchmeans is a disposable bag.
 13. The device according to claim 1 whereinsaid switch means comprises a microswitch having a closeable positioncorrespondable to start signalling and an openable positioncorrespondable to stop signalling, said microswitch having a lever armpivoted thereto contactable on the outside of said housing third sectionfor opening and closing the switch means.